Lemon Bay crushes Mariner

Lemon Bay shortstop Hunter Mars and the two other seniors in the Manta Rays’ starting lineup have been waiting all season for Friday.

So Tuesday was . . . Necessary.

Mars went 3-for-3 — with three of the strangest hits possible — and junior center fielder Baleigh Clemens walloped a three-run, third-inning homer that broke the game open, as the Mantas (22-2) rode pitcher Brooke Carvey’s four-hit shutout to a 6-0 victory over visiting Cape Coral Mariner in the Class 5A-Region 4 semifinals.

Next up is a rematch at defending state champion Plantation American Heritage (22-4), scheduled for either 4 or 7 p.m. Friday.

The teams were ranked 1-2 in Miracle Sports’ final regular-season state poll last week. But Lemon Bay — 64-14 over a three-year span — lost 7-0 last May 3, managing only three hits and committing four errors.

“We definitely feel like we’re heading into a much fairer fight down there,” coach Kim Pinkham said. “It’s been hard to get us out of this business-like approach that we’ve been taking. But at the same time, we’re not overly emotional, which is a plus because these are teen-aged girls.”

The Mantas wasted little time against district rival Mariner (14-11), jumping to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Kacyn Shirley’s RBI double to left and Clemens’ sacrifice fly, then adding a run in the second on Mars’ sacrifice fly.

The next time the left-handed Clemens faced Tritons senior Alyssa Longdale, she deposited a 0-1 pitch over the right-field fence — after younger sister Brooke Clemens had singled to left and Carvey doubled into to the left-field corner.

Both of her two homers this season have come against Longdale.

“I’ve been waiting for that to happen,” Baleigh Clemens said. “This pitcher and I ... I was all ready, I was all jacked up. I hit my last home run off her, too, so I just wanted to crush her.”

The Manta Rays peppered Longdale for 14 hits — six in the third inning alone — but stranded 10 baserunners and had two potentially bigger innings end with Brooke Clemens (.431 average, 9 HR, 31 RBI) standing in the on-deck circle.

Mars popped a single past the shortstop, slapped a ground ball that literally spun away from the third baseman and blooped a single into shallow left. Carvey was 3-for-4, while Bridget Ruhl and Brooke Clemens each added two hits.

“It was a little weird,” Mars said of her three hits and three other bloopers that fell for teammates. “I get lucky a lot. Whatever works, I guess. We have days where we all do that, and then we have some days where, like, we all hit crushers.”

Baleigh Clemens’ home run was a crusher.

“That girl hits the ball so hard on a regular basis, and usually just has not been lucky enough to have the right fence,” Pinkham said. “But she just crushed all of that one ... It didn’t just sneak out, there was no doubt about it.”

Carvey did the rest, striking out five without issuing a walk — just six days after walking six against Lehigh.

Longdale smashed a pair of doubles to deep center in the first and seventh innings, but Carvey retired 21 of the other 23 batters she faced, allowing only a single to Nicole Amaya in the fifth and a single to Brittany Jarvis in the sixth.

Now it’s finally time for the rematch.

“Last year, I feel like we just kind of rolled over and gave up,” Baleigh Clemens said. “This year, we’re going at (American Heritage) full force. Mentally and physically, our whole team is stronger this year.”

Added Mars: “Senior year, I want another shot at them. We’re ready and we know what we’re going up against. Last year, we didn’t know anything about them, we just knew they were good.”

Last modified: May 1, 2013
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